The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-04-12

either upon him or in his room or course You
understand that our methods used in ascertain
ing all this cannot be made public. Sufhce IL TO
say. that we have our hand on every thievish
employee and are in easy reach Of those who
are not arrested. When / say We mean, OF
course Mr.. Gilkerson first. as to him belongs the
exclusive credit of the rich haul that filled the
cragnet
Il can give few illustrations Of the spirit OF
these employees In one case, just lately, the
pursuit was hot that twenty-five boxes OF fine
cigars were hastily burned in a caboose stove
In another trip resulted IN two bolts OF
fine silk being thrown from caboose into the
Monongahea river, while crossing the Pan
handle bridge. In another instance crew
broke open car and found 1t full of organs.
One of the men was so euraged by finding moth
ing of the stealabie kind that he thrust an iron
bar into an organ and ruined ii. We have evi-
deuce that freight conductor broke into a car,
opened piano and sat and played it all night,
stopping at midnight TO eat his supper off Of the
polished top. The same fellow was humping
piano in dive, last night when captured. An
other brakeman, who lives on Wylie avenue.
stole bolt of cloth, had suit made for him
self, and gave the cloth for two other suits to
two of his friends. Another man has become
expert on stolen accordion. In all my expert
of twentv-nine years l never saw sucn
taste for miscellaneous stealing. Everything.
except a coffin and a olacksmith's avil has been
stolen and made use OF. Some of our detectives
assured me this morning that not a man was ar
rested but had from half dozen to dozen
pairs of clean socks of the finest quality, and
large assortment of shirts of all kinds.
''The thieves who were not arrested at their
homes were taken from their trains. TO do this
it was necessary to display the red light at the
Second-avenue crossing. and sidetrack the
trains as they came in. This was SO quickly ex-
ecuted that when the thievine crew mustered
on to the little platform to ask what the red
light meant. they could elistening on the
wrists of each other the fearful implements of
justice by which the officers gathered them to-
gether. Conductor and brakemen looked aghast
at each other as the guilty knowledge of their
crimes came before them Train after train
side tracked, until the alleged thieves were ar
rested, and the caboose containing many
evidences of their long-continued depredations
were cut loose and searched The combination
to rob freight train necesstated the guilty
knowledge and actual participation of the con-
ductor, the middle brakeman one or more, and
the rear brakeman or fagman. 1t did not,
of necessity, take in the front brakeman
or fagman. nor the engineer or fireman.
B Mt the others had to be in to make it work, and
it did work 1t was not required that they
should wreck trains to do it. They were finer
fingered operators than that They were no
mere gatherers up of scattered goods, like the
mob who carried off the hams at the riots-not
they. Every excuse which they knew could not
well be denied was given for broken cars when
they neglected, which they frequently did, to
seal or lock them up again. The government
bonded cars were broken perhaps oftener than
the ordinary Unon-ine or common freight-cars.
In these they always knew they could get choice
goods Silks. cigars rifles all kinds of imported
firearms, and caddies of tobacco seemed to be
some of their necessities; boxes of shoes and .
general run of merchandise for their everyday use
were found openly in the caboose cars of each
train. Hundreds of boxes which had contained
the finest of imported cigars were found on these
trains, boldly used by the men to hold their
caps and overalls and lanterns and waste stuff
| So bold bad they become that the United States
regulations, strict they are, had lost all ter
Go. &AAvr sl.k H. f7rnn~
were trying to trace the goods, and the mer-
| chants here and elsewhere corresponding with
| the shippers and the special agents at special
| pay were wondering how this could possibly be,
and loading down the letter books with theories
which few around indefinite as smoke, the
| operators smoked their Havanas within the very
| shadow Of the court or custom m-house and laughed
| AT their masters who suffered the loss"
Fires were in progress to-day all along the
| line of the Panhandle road, made up of stuff
| thrown out of the caboose cars that the evidence
| of things not seen may be wanting when the
| trial comes. Word was telegraphed along the
road for the particulars of each Freight
| trains have hauled up at water stations apd a
| delay made till the caboose was swept an6ga
| nished, and In doing so evidence has been pro
cured against unsuspeeted railroad men which II
| will be hard to overturn. Almost every man ar
| rested had from one to ten pawn tickets for al
sorts of articles his person 1t is alleged that
every pawn shop in the two cities is represent ted
on the tickets An amount of several thousand
| dollars Is said to be recoverable IN TINS way
| alone.
About the Panhandle yards. to-day, there was
| a scene Of quietness that indicated that some
thing unusual had happened where there is
| usually scene of noisy hustle. The crews oi
men that had been arrested had left large
number of trains deserted. There were twenty
four of these trains piled closely together the
side-tracks in the yards. The detention o.
| freight, however. was only emporaTy. The
| railroad officers had taken special precauton.
to continue moving their freight promptly Al
extra force of sixty men had been employed
These were put on the deserted trains in plac.
| of the arrested employees When it became
| generally known that large number of meI
had been arrested applicants for positions com
menced TO flock to the depot by the score.